BIDDEFORD — Defensive end David Redmond of Westbrook knew a pass was coming.
Biddeford quarterback Joey Curit, who had just seen a third-down pass slip in and out of the hands of a receiver in the end zone, did not know Redmond was coming.
With a minute left in the third quarter Friday night, Curit dropped back but got blindsided by Redmond. The football popped loose and Westbrook’s other defensive end, Zack Hutchins, scooped it up and raced 76 yards to effectively clinch a 39-13 victory in a Class B South quarterfinal at Waterhouse Field.
Fifth-seeded Westbrook (6-3) advanced to the regional semifinals against top-ranked Falmouth (8-1) in a rematch of a 14-7 Falmouth victory in Week 2.
Fourth-ranked Biddeford (5-4) had beaten Westbrook 28-13 a month ago on this same patch of grass.
“I was just hoping he didn’t get it off before I got there,” said Redmond, who finished with three sacks. “When I wrapped around him, I wanted to make sure my hand got over his shoulder on the ball. It turned out for the best for us.”
Curit did not return. Colin Lavigne took over at quarterback for the fourth quarter, when the only score was the second of two 44-yard touchdown passes from Bailey Sawyer to Bailey Ryan. They also connected on Westbrook’s first possession of the third quarter.
“He’s the fastest guy on our team,” Sawyer said. “And it was single coverage all game. So we were testing the cornerback and a couple times we got lucky.”
Sawyer opened the game with consecutive keepers between the tackles that netted 32 and 35 yards. Hutchins then plunged in from the 1 and Ryan added the PAT kick for a 7-0 lead before the game was two minutes old.
Biddeford made it 7-6 on a 3-yard run by Lucas Rhoy, who had rumbled for 237 yards and three touchdowns in the regular-season victory over Westbrook. On Friday, the Blue Blazes held him to 79 yards and one rushing touchdown.
“I thought our defensive line was really good (Friday),” Westbrook Coach Jeff Guerette said. “We did a much better job on the fullback than we did the last time.”
Besides Redmond and Hutchins at ends, that stout line featured Mikiel Lepage at noseguard, and Brandon Lajoie and Chris Kennie at tackles. They finished with six sacks and 10 other tackles for loss.
The play that gave Biddeford the most trouble was an inside reverse that featured a double handoff, from Sawyer to Hutchins to Miece Loureiro. Twice in the second quarter, Loureiro cut against the grain and broke tackles on the way to touchdown runs of 33 and 30 yards to make it 20-6 at halftime.
Loureiro finished with 104 yards on nine carries. After Sawyer found Ryan on the first deep touchdown pass, Westbrook led 27-6 four minutes into the third quarter.
One play later, Curit scrambled away from pressure and found Rhoy for a 63-yard catch-and-run touchdown and then forced a quick three-and-out. Trailing 27-13, the Tigers drove to the Westbrook 10 before sputtering. Redmond’s strip sack and the long fumble return made it 33-13.
“If they convert that, all of a sudden it’s a one-score game,” Guerette said. “Dave made a great play and Hutch picked it up. That worked out as well as it could have.”
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